Home near big blaze damaged by fire

A raging four-alarm fire destroyed a vacant apartment building and severely damaged a house next door tonight on Hale Street.

“Thirteen years I've lived there,” said Cecile Tarbell of 8 Hale St., as firefighters went in and out of her burning house to retrieve valuables and other belongings. Picture frames and mementos were piled up near a snowbank across the street. From outside, she gave a firefighter directions on where to go inside to locate other treasured belongings, as gallons upon gallons of water flowed out the front door, carrying with it debris and the odd 5-gallon bucket.

Ms. Tarbell was not at home when fire broke out late this afternoon in the A. Seretto building.

But her husband, Lionel, was inside taking a shower. He said he got out of the shower and his son, who had just arrived for a visit, came in and told him the building next door was on fire.

“By the time I got dressed, a cop came in and grabbed me and told me to get out,” Mr. Tarbell said.

Mr. Tarbell, who grew up a few houses down from 8 Hale St., said that in addition to his wife, his sister-in-law also lived there, but she was not home at the time of the fire. The Tarbell's three dogs also got out safely.

Mr. Tarbell said there was heavy fire shooting out of the second floor of the four-story brick building, built in 1913. He said a huge chunk of the wall of the building came loose and crashed onto his house.

The first floor of the building was boarded up, but Mr. and Mrs. Tarbell said squatters frequently made their way inside. They were convinced one of those squatters had something to do with the fire, which produced a column of smoke that could be seen for several miles, even in the dark.

“Someone was in there to stay warm or something, and they lit it on fire,” Mr. Tarbell surmised. “There's no doubt in my mind.”

Fire Chief Kevin Roy said the apartment building has been vacant for at least 10 years, and was on the Fire Department's radar. He said an initial search did not turn up anybody inside. He said the building, which had been fixed up several times over the years, was once a highlight of a heavily Italian section of the city. He said there were reports of people running away soon after the fire started, but said that may have been Mr. Tarbell and his son. He said there is a homeless population in the city, and they would have figured out how someone could get in the building. He said the building appeared to be well-secured. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation; the chief said crews would remain on scene into the night overhauling both structures.

Chief Roy said firefighters battled extreme cold temperatures and were able to prevent the fire from spreading to another building behind the Seretto building. There were some slips and falls, but nothing requiring hospitalization, the chief said.

The Seretto building appeared gutted; smoke still poured from nearly every window long after the flames were extinguished. Stubborn flames on the roof spread to the chimney area toward the front of the Tarbell's house.

Traffic snarled in the area; several streets in the hilly neighborhood off Route 12 were blocked off, and cars had trouble maneuvering on roads that quickly iced up from all the water flowing from the fire, which was under control in both buildings by around 7 p.m.

The American Red Cross dispatched a team of volunteers to the fire scene to provide assistance.

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